Hexagram 27: 頤

yí — hungry mouth, appetite, nourishment

Upper TrigramMountain
Lower TrigramThunder

Judgment

頤yíhungry, open mouth; appetite; nourishment
貞zhēnpersistence, determination, resolve, survival
吉jíis promising, auspicious, opportune, timely
觀guānwatch, observe, behold, study; look at, to
頤yíthe hungry mouth, jaws, oral behavior
自zìstarting, beginning from original, with
求qiúa, the search, quest, seek, hunt, craving
口kǒuto the mouth, the length of food chain
實shíto the substance, incorporation, feeding

Providing Nourishment. Perseverance brings good fortune. Pay heed to what you seek to fill your mouth with. The replicator can synthesize anything, but Picard always orders the same tea. The choice reveals character—not what you can consume, but what you choose to.

Image

山shāna, the mountain
下xiàbelow, beneath; at the base, foot of
有yǒuis, there is
雷léithe thunder
頤yíhungry mouth
君jūna, the noble, worthy, honored
子zǐyoung one, heir, disciple
以yǐaccordingly, therefore, thus
慎shènis mindful of, careful with, prudent in
言yánwords, talk, speech, language
語yǔand expression, discourse, discussions
節jiéand restrained, moderate, temperate
飲yǐnin drinking; with drink
食shíand eating; food, nourishment

Thunder at the mountain's foot: the superior man is careful of his words and temperate in eating. Both movements—words going out, food coming in—require moderation. The replicator removes physical limitation, making temperance a moral rather than practical necessity.

Digital Artifact

Star Trek's Replicator

Gene Roddenberry (Next Generation era) (1987)

The replicator is post-scarcity technology made mundane. 'Tea, Earl Grey, hot.' Matter synthesized from energy, any food or object on demand. But watch what it does to the narrative structure: when physical needs are automatically met, what remains? Character development, moral questions, interpersonal dynamics. The replicator doesn't just provide nourishment—it eliminates material want as plot motivator, forcing the writers to address what humans care about when survival is guaranteed. The technology nourishes (lower trigram: physical sustenance) and simultaneously demonstrates what kinds of nourishment actually matter (upper trigram: spiritual cultivation). The mouth itself is the hexagram image: lower jaw and upper jaw, the space between where food becomes meaning.

Historical Context

Period
Zhou Dynasty
Oracle Bone Etymology
Mountain (☶) above, Thunder (☳) below—stillness over movement, upper lip and lower lip.
Traditional Use
The classical text describes nourishment: lower lines represent feeding the body, upper lines represent cultivating the spirit.

Lines

Line 1: 舍爾靈龜觀我朵頤凶

舍shěforsake, abandon, give up, letting go of
爾ěryour
靈língspirit, medicine, magic, mystery, divine
龜guītortoise, turtle
觀guānand, while looking at, to, watching
我wǒme, us
朵duǒhanging open, down; with hang down
頤yíwith hungry mouth; mouth
凶xiōngunfortunate, disappointing, unlucky, sad

Line 2: 顛頤拂經于丘頤征凶

顛diānabnormal, overwhelming, disproportionate
頤yíappetite, hunger, feeding, sustenance
拂fúdismiss, reject; shake, brushing off, aside
經jīngthe norms, al, standards; usual, customary
于yúand going to, into, up to, among, amidst
丘qiūthe hilltops, sides, mounds, high places
頤yíwith hungry mouth, appetites; hungrying
征zhēngpressing; venturing, going boldly into
凶xiōngis misfortune, unfortunate; failure, pitfalls

Line 3: 拂頤貞凶十年勿用無攸利

拂fúdismissing, rejecting; brushing off, aside
頤yíthe hungry mouth, appetites, hungering
貞zhēnpersistence, determination, resolve
凶xiōngis unfortunate, unlikely, has pitfalls
十shífor ten
年niányears, harvests
勿wùnot to be, to be, of being not at all
用yònguseful, practical, functional, available
無wúthis is no, not; this lacks, has no
攸yōua direction, purpose; an aim, orientation
利lìwith merit, of value, with rewards

Line 4: 顛頤吉虎視眈眈其欲逐逐無咎

顛diānabnormal, overwhelming, disproportionate
頤yíappetite, hunger
吉jíis promising, auspicious, opportune, timely
虎hǔa, the tiger
視shìlooks, watches, observes, studies, searches
眈dānstaring, glaring
眈dānand staring, glaring; with fixed gaze
其qíwith its own; it, this is a
欲yùpassion, desire, longing, lust, hunger, want
逐zhúis to hunt, pursue
逐zhúand give chase, run wild
無wúbut no; not; nothing; without, with no
咎jiùblame; is wrong; a mistake, an error

Line 5: 拂經居貞吉不可涉大川

拂fúdismissing, rejecting; brushing off, aside
經jīngthe norms, standards, usual, customary
居jūto practice; abide, dwell in; abiding
貞zhēnpersistence, determination, resolve, truth
吉jíis promising, auspicious, hopeful, timely
不bùbut one is not, less than, ill-, un-, dis-
可kěsuited, likely, fit, inclined
涉shèto, for cross, ford, ferry, venturing
大dàthe great, big, major
川chuānstream, river, current, waters

Line 6: 由頤厲吉利涉大川

由yóuat, as a, the source, origin, beginning of
頤yíthe appetites, hungering, as food itself
厲lìdistress; difficult, harsh, brutal, serious
吉jíbut promising, hopeful, positive
利lìit is worthwhile, rewarding, favorable
涉shèto cross, ford, ferry, venture, experience
大dàthe great, big, major
川chuānstream, river, current, waters

Practical Guidance

You can tell everything about a person's priorities by watching what they feed and what they cultivate. Not what they say about their values—what they actually nourish. The hexagram's structure is literally a mouth—jaw above, jaw below, opening between. What you put in that opening matters. But here's what matters more: what you do with it after. Physical nourishment versus spiritual cultivation. Your body versus your character. The replicator question: if you could have anything, what would you choose? Most people discover they don't know. Unlimited options, paralysis. Picard orders the same tea because he's already figured out what nourishes him. The choice itself—not having unlimited selection—creates the space for cultivation. You're surrounded by infinite content right now. Infinite possibilities. Infinite potential knowledge. What are you actually feeding yourself? Track your actual inputs for a week: what you read, watch, practice, discuss. That's what you're cultivating, regardless of what you believe about your priorities. Here's what the first line nails: people who could live on air (pure principle, self-sufficient) but instead envy others' circumstances. You have access to the replicator—infinite information, unlimited tutorials, entire technical libraries. If you're looking around envying other people's advantages instead of using what you have, you're choosing starvation at the feast. Picard's consistent choice—Earl Grey, hot, always in the same Bodum Bistro glass cup—isn't limitation. It's clarity about what actually nourishes him. The replicator didn't give him that clarity; it revealed whether he had it. When you can have anything, what you repeatedly choose shows what you actually value. Your browser history knows more about your priorities than your mission statement does.

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